


Luca Claus is Coming to Town

by crushondeanlikeafairy



Category: S.W.A.T. (TV 2017)
Genre: Christmas, Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Holiday Cheer, Holiday Feel Goodery, Luca is Santa Claus, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2021-02-17 22:30:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21700786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crushondeanlikeafairy/pseuds/crushondeanlikeafairy
Summary: Nobody got in the holiday spirit like Dominique Luca. And when Street says he doesn't like Christmas, Luca sets out to find the perfect Christmas present.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 111





	Luca Claus is Coming to Town

**Author's Note:**

> I was working on my usual fics but I took a break to create this monster of a holiday fic! I was kinda on a time crunch, so it took precedence. I've actually been working on this for a month now, so I really hope you like it. :)  
> I know it's a little long and a lotta cheesy, but I wanted my children to be happy for the holidays!

The holiday season was Luca’s favorite time of the year. He finally got a respite from Southern California’s absurdly hot weather, but it never got too cold. Everyone started putting colorful lights up on their roofs and the city wrapped them around the trees lining the sidewalks. They lit up the sidewalks impossibly bright. It was the time of year where everyone gave more freely to the people standing beside them. Thanksgiving meant he got to have dinner with his dad which he did a lot anyway, but on that day they got to spend the day cooking together. They always made sure to bake the recipe for pecan pie his mother used to make every year. It was their way of keeping her with them.

This year though, he’d invited his roommate to come along with him. When discussing Thanksgiving plans the week before, Street had told him he had none. Usually, he would go out barhopping and pick up women who also had no one to spend the holiday with; but seeing as he had recently grown out of that phase and having started a relationship with Molly Hicks, that left his evening open and Luca wouldn’t stand for it. It had taken some convincing to get him to agree, the other man insisting he didn’t want to intrude. But Luca heard none of it, throwing out two good reasons for every one excuse Street could come up with. Eventually, he had caved and agreed to come and Luca was sure he was secretly excited about going to his first real Thanksgiving dinner in over a decade.

It served a double purpose. It was only the Luca family’s second Thanksgiving without his grandfather and last year had been more melancholy than joyful. He selfishly hoped bringing his friend along would distract both he and his father.

“Dude,” Luca chuckled as they went up the path to his father’s house. “You didn’t have to bring wine.”

“It’s proper etiquette! I’m being polite!”

“You’re supposed to make dinner interesting, not be the perfect house guest.” Luca opened the front door, motioning for Street to pass through before shutting it behind him. “We’re here!”

“In the kitchen!” his father called.

The pair made their way into the kitchen. Luca’s father was mixing the stuffing for the turkey. He set his spatula down when they entered, turning to greet his guests. He hugged his son before reaching to shake Street’s hand.

“Good to see you again. I’m glad my son invited you.”

“Me too,” Street smiled, handing Luca’s father the wine. “I wasn’t sure what you drink. I hope this is okay.”

“It’s a decent vintage. Eh, it’ll do,” Carl teased, setting the proffered bottle down on the kitchen counter. “I can take care of the turkey if you boys wanna get started on dessert?”

“Sure thing, pops.” Luca moved to the cupboard to start getting out the needed ingredients. “Come on, Street. I’ll show you how to make my mom’s pecan pie.”

The cooking went well and, by the time the sun went down, they had a decent meal prepared. After dinner, Luca offered to clean up while his father roped Street into looking through old family albums. ‘Roped’ was probably the wrong word. He’d been all too eager to sift through his teammate’s embarrassing baby photos.

When Luca came into the living room, he found Street sitting with Carl on the couch, an album sitting in his lap. The pair were laughing as they turned the page. Luca came up behind the couch and leaned forward on the back of it, crossing his arms and resting his chin on them.

“What the hell is that?” Street asked. The picture he was referring to was of a young Luca smiling with his father in front of a four-story tall fiberglass sculpture of a fanged fish.

“The Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame,” Luca smiled, “I remember that trip.”

“Right! In Wisconsin. That fish is called a Muskie,” his father answered, jabbing his finger at the photo. “So we’re all on this cross-country road trip. And my family, we love fishing. So, we decide to make a pitstop. We all load out of the truck and we’re looking around. Dominique, he’s five years old and he sees this enormous statue of this fish, bigger than an airplane, right? He’s standing at the base of it, just staring at it. I swear his eyes were bigger than his head they were so wide. He’s real quiet for a good few minutes. And finally, he turns to me, shoulders squared. He’s real confident. And he goes, ‘Dad. I could land that fish.’”

The group erupted into laughter. Luca buried his face in his arms in mock-embarrassment, he was laughing just as much as they were.

“Hey, I could have,” Luca said, looking up at his dad. “You know that.”

“You can do anything you set your mind to. Even catching an enormous fiberglass fish.” His dad rose from the couch and picked up the empty glasses that were on the coffee table. “I’m gonna go finish up the dishes and head on to bed. You two, feel free to stay as long as you like.”

“Oh,” Luca remembered, straightening up to face his dad. “I finished all the dishes from dinner and I put away most the food. But I wasn’t sure where you wanted me to put the turkey carver.”

“I’ll put it away,” his dad called, “Goodnight.”

“Night, pops!”   


“Goodnight, Mr. Luca!”

Luca placed his hands on the back of the couch and leaned his weight on them, looking over Street’s shoulder at the photo album. He’d turned the page and found Luca’s first baby pictures, right after his parents had taken him home from the hospital.

“Look at your chubby cheeks!” he was chuckling, “I really wanna send this to the team.”

“You better not.” Luca smacked his shoulder.

“I won’t. But I’m telling em the fish story.”

Luca groaned, “This is emotional blackmail.”

Street squinted, looking up at the ceiling. “Is it, though?”

“We gotta square things up. You show me your embarrassing baby pics and we’ll call it even.”

“Sorry. Don’t have any,” he said smugly, “Guess I’ll hold onto this emotional blackmail material.”

“It doesn’t need to be a whole album.”

“Luca, I don’t have any.”

Luca didn’t answer immediately, uncertain if he had heard correctly. “Wait… none? At all? Your mom never took any?”’

“She might have. I don’t know what happened to them.” He shrugged and turned the page in the album, revealing a little Luca standing on top of a massive six-story tall elephant monument. “Okay, I know there’s a story here. Is this that same road trip? What is this hideous thing?”

Luca shook himself, leaning down to look closer at the picture. “It is. That is Lucy. She was built in 1881. She is a classy lady and you will show her some respect.”

Street held his hands up in surrender and went back to flipping through the book. They finished looking through it and put all the albums away. He locked up the house on his way out. They reached the car and Street paused for a moment.

“Luca, hold up,” he said, wringing his hands in front of him. “I just wanted to say thanks for inviting me to your Thanksgiving. I've never really liked the holidays. I usually end up alone while all my friends are out celebrating with their families, so I appreciate you inviting me to yours.”

Luca regarded his friend for a second before reaching forward and pulling him into a hug. Street was stunned and didn’t return the gesture immediately, but he finally brought his arms up to wrap them around Luca.

“You’re always welcome, man,” Luca said, stepping back and clapping his friend on the shoulder, “Remember that.”

At work the next morning, Luca was trying to think of a way to get Street out of the locker room when the other man fixed the problem for him.

“Luca, can I borrow your keys? I think I left my phone in the car.”

“Sure, man.” He tossed Street his keys and watched him leave. Once he was sure his teammate was out of hearing range, he turned to the others. “So, I’ve been thinking about Christmas…”

“The season comes earlier and earlier every year,” Deacon said sarcastically.

“He waited until after Thanksgiving at least. The markets didn’t even wait till Halloween was over,” Tan defended.

“What were you gonna say, Luca?” Hondo asked, turning his focus from his locker to his teammate.

“Right, well, I was at dinner with my dad last night and we were looking through old photo albums with Street. And he told me he doesn’t have any.”

“Any what?” Chris asked.

“Baby pictures,” Luca clarified, waving his hands in front of him as he spoke. “Like none. He said he doesn’t know what happened to them. So I was thinking it might make a good Christmas present if I could find em, ya know?”

“Find them how?” Deacon asked skeptically.

“I haven’t gotten that far yet.”

“You’re assuming they exist at all. It’s possible his mom never took any in the first place. And even if she did, it’s been over twenty years and I’m sure all her possessions were repossessed a long time ago.”

“Come on, Deac! It’s worth a shot!”

“What are you telling us for?” Hondo asked, “You want us to help you look?”

“I mean I could use a little help but I was mostly wondering if we could rig the Secret Santa this year.”

“That defeats the purpose of Secret Santa!” Tan said.

“Well, in order for this to work, I kinda have to be the one to pull his name! It’ll still be a secret! Come on, guys. I really wanna make this special for him. He was telling me last night that the holidays bum him out. I won’t have any grinchiness on my watch!”

“I don’t see any reason why not,” Hondo said, looking expectantly at the rest of the group. They all nodded in agreement.

“Fine,” Tan grumbled.

“I can help you get started this weekend if you want,” Chris offered.

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Luca clapped excitedly. “See? Chris is in the Christmas spirit!”

At that moment, Street entered the room, cell phone in hand. He tossed Luca his car keys. “Chris is in the Christmas spirit  _ already _ ?”

“It’s almost December,” she shrugged, “It’s not that early.”

“Whatever you say, Santa Claus,” he teased, a grin plastered on his face.

The team finished gearing up not long later and headed in to work, while Luca brainstormed ideas to make the perfect Christmas present happen.

Luca was loath to admit it, but Deacon had been right. Finding photos that would have been in a house that was cleared out decades ago was kind of a difficult task. He’d tried Buck but had come up empty. He’d even asked that foster brother Street had brought over a few times, Nate, but that was a dead-end too. Eventually, he and Chris had only been left with one option. Going straight to the source.

That was how the pair found themselves sitting reluctantly in Long Beach Women’s Correctional.

“I can’t believe she agreed to see us,” Luca commented, tapping impatiently on the table.

“I can’t believe we’re here in the first place,” Chris said, venom lacing her voice. She was leaning into her forearms, pressing them into the metal table, her hands clasped together.

“You didn’t have to come,” Luca pointed out.

“I said I’d help you and I’m going to.”

“Thank you,” he said. Luca was quiet for a moment, before stalling his tapping and turning to face her. “Just try and be nice, okay? We need her to help us.”

“I’ll try my best,” Chris answered stiffly, sitting up straight when the door opened. “There she is.”

Karen Street was being escorted to the room by a guard, who remained by the doorway once she had passed through. The metal door slid shut behind her. She looked around the room briefly before spotting them and making her way to their table.

“Good morning, Mrs. Street,” Luca said, rising to greet her.

She ignored him, silently taking the seat across from the pair. “What do you two want?”

Luca immediately sat back down, taking the older woman’s cavalier attitude in stride. “Well, Christmas is coming up and-”

“I won’t see him.”

He stuttered to a stop, tilting his head, confused. “Excuse me?”

“If you’re here to convince me to let my son visit me for Christmas, you’re wasting your time.” Karen leaned forward, placing her palms flat on the table. “If he wanted to see me, he should have thought of that before he had me locked up again. I won’t let him visit, I won’t take his phone calls, and I won’t be making any holiday exceptions.”

Chris glanced briefly at Luca’s dumbfounded face before deciding to take control of the situation herself. “Ignoring how cruel it is that you would deny your own son even a phone call on  _ Christmas _ , that’s not why we’re here.”

“Oh?” she asked, tilting her head curiously. “That’s a relief. It seems every time he has an issue with me one of you people has to interfere. If he has a problem, he should talk to me himself.”

“Funny. That would probably go better if you’d allow him to talk to you.”

Karen smiled, “So that is why you’re here.”

“No,” Luca rushed to answer before Chris could. “No. Ma’am, we’re just trying to-”

“Why won’t you take his calls then?” Chris interrupted, “If you supposedly want him to come to you himself. Why ignore him?”

“I’ve found that with him a little silent treatment really serves to drive the lesson home. Every time one of his calls doesn’t go through, he’ll know how badly he messed up. Keeps him working to fix it.”

“You’re a piece of work,” Chris said through gritted teeth, “Manipulating your child like that…”

Karen shrugged, bringing a hand up to her chest to feign innocence. “It’s not my fault. He makes it so easy. He’s always been that way. Maybe if I had been able to raise him myself I could have-”

Chris rose quickly, slamming her hand on the table. The bang echoed through the empty visiting room, causing Karen to lean back in surprise. It was a small victory but it made Chris satisfied none the less. She leaned across the table, looking directly into the older woman’s eyes. She kept her voice low and spoke slowly.

“He is  _ lucky _ that you got yourself locked up in here. You would have ruined him. The way I see it, you saved him from two evil parents.”

For the first time since entering the room, Karen Street was speechless. Her jaw had dropped and her eyes were wide. She looked scandalized, like a PTA mom who’d just been told her coupon wasn’t valid. Chris stepped over the bench she’d been sitting on and headed for the door.

“Come on, Luca. She’s not gonna help us. There’s nothing in it for her.”

The door slammed shut behind Chris and she was gone, leaving just Karen and her last visitor. At this point, Luca didn’t hold out much hope that he’d get anything out of her, but he’d come all this way so he had to try.

“Mrs. Street,” he started, hoping he came across as kind and understanding but he wasn’t entirely sure it sounded genuine. It took her a minute, but she finally tore her eyes away from the door to look at him. “I understand that you’re mad at him. I don’t… know why for sure. I don’t have all the details. But we care about him. Like… a lot. And I’m trying to make the perfect Christmas present. And to do that, I need your help. If you really want to keep up this whole silent treatment thing, we don’t even need to tell him you helped us.”

She didn’t answer, fixing him instead with an icy glare. Luca rushed to fix his speech.

“Or we could tell him so he’ll… feel worse for hurting your feelings?”

Karen sighed, leaning her head back and rolling her eyes. “What is this present anyway?”

Luca was surprised momentarily but seemed to have hooked her and had to keep the momentum going. “A photo album. I want to fill it with baby pictures. Do you have any? Or know anywhere they could be?”

“God, I don’t know!” She threw hands up exasperatedly, letting them drop back down into her lap. “The bank took the house after I got arrested. The furniture was auctioned off. I lost most of my possessions. And anyway, I didn’t take very many to begin with. The only place they could be…”

She got quiet again, a look of concentration passing over her face.

“If they survived, I know where they are.”

“Where?” he asked eagerly, sitting forward on the edge of the bench.

“I need a favor.”

It took a considerable amount of personal control not to groan. “What?”

“Internet privileges. Since I landed back in here on parole violations, they revoked them. I want it back.”

“I can talk to the warden.” Luca waved his hand to urge her on. “Where are they?”

“There’s a storage unit. A friend of mine moved my important stuff there after the bank issued the repossession notice. I think it’s under Jimmy’s name. He pays for it. I’ve never been but Jimmy gave me the combination when I was out on parole.”

“Perfect! Thank you!” 

Luca got the address and all the info from her, said a hasty goodbye and turned for the door. He halted, turning back to the table and resting his hand on it.

“You know… your son? He’s loyal. Sometimes to a fault. It’s why he keeps running back to you no matter how many times you hurt him. You might want to try actually deserving that.”

Having said his peace, he took his gains and headed outside to find Chris. She was in the parking lot leaning against the car.

“Judging by your dumb grin I’d say you got something?”

“Sure did!” he cheered, “No thanks to you. If that was your best, I’d hate to see your worst.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry,” she grumbled. Luca unlocked the car and she went around and hopped into the passenger seat. “I just… I really hate that woman.”

“Me too,” Luca said quietly.

Chris sighed, leaning her head back against her seat and shutting her eyes. “Is he even going to want these pictures?”

“What do you mean?” Luca turned his head toward her, his brow creased into a hard line.

“I just…” Chris brought her head forward, facing Luca in return. She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m thinking about his relationship with his mom and how… toxic it is and that’s his  _ better _ parental relationship. Are you sure childhood photos would be something he would want?”

Luca was quiet, looking down where he clasped his hands in his lap. He hadn’t thought about it like that.

“I mean, I’m not sure,” he said finally, “But I think it’s worth finding them. It might be nice to remind him of the good times too. We have a lead! We might as well go look. Up for one more stop today?”

“Is it gonna be more pleasant than that?” she asked, jerking her head in the direction of the prison.

“I think anything would be,” Luca laughed, “But yes, I think it could be fun.”

Chris smirked, “Fine. But coffee first.”

“Deal,” he responded, smiling in return.

The storage unit was just up the coast in Venice but, with the LA traffic, the drive lasted over an hour. Luca ended up being glad for the caffeine boost. Eventually, they reached their destination, ‘Stor-It Storage’. The pair parked in the space right out front and went inside. The lobby was rundown, a rickety fan spinning around and holes in the carpet. The front desk sat directly across from the door and there were two hallways, one on either side. A young woman was leaning back in her chair behind the front desk, her feet propped up on it. She was playing a game on her phone as she chewed loudly on some bubble gum. She rolled her eyes when they asked which direction unit 231 was, but pointed to the left hall all the same.

“I don’t like it in here,” Luca mumbled as he and Chris wandered the dimly lit hall in search of the unit.

“Why? Cause it’s smelly?” Chris asked, holding her hand up to cover her nose.

“No. Well… that too. But I hate indoor storage centers. The halls go on and on. There are no windows. Who knows if it even ends? We could get lost and no one would ever find us.”

“It is surprisingly maze-like in here,” she agreed. They rounded the fourth corner they’d come to since beginning their journey.

“Right? Murdery vibes.”

“Don’t worry. The others will avenge us.” She looked up at him and smiled, patting him on the shoulder comfortingly. The numbers were going up, her counting as they walked. She stopped and held out her hand to stop Luca. “This is it.”

Luca pulled his phone out of his pocket, opening the note containing the combination. He crouched down in front of the latch and popped open the lock. Standing back up, he and Chris grabbed the handles and pushed the rolling metal door upwards. The clanging sound echoed through the hall. There was a light switch to the left inside and Chris reached out and flipped it. A dim bulb scantly lit the place, revealing the shapes of cardboard boxes stacked against the back wall. They stepped further inside, turning on the flashlights on their cell phones to read the labels on the boxes.

It was a slow process. There were only about ten boxes, but some weren’t labeled and the stack had to be moved so they could look inside. They were all varying in size and the unit wasn’t that roomy, so they found it hard to maneuver.

“I think I found something!” Luca exclaimed about forty-five minutes and five boxes into their search.

Chris set her box aside and moved to sit cross-legged on the floor beside Luca. He was leaning forward to sift through a box labeled ‘Mementos’.

“Looks promising,” she said.

“Check this out!” Luca responded, dramatically lifting and envelope from the box and shoving it in her face. 

She took it and inspected it, turning it over in her hands until she saw the word ‘Photos’ scrawled across the flap in neat cursive handwriting. Luca watched as she opened it and dumped the contents into her lap, scooping them up and lining them in a pile. She reached out to hand it to him.

They were indeed photographs. And Luca was over the moon that his mission had been a success. But as he flipped through the stack, his mood started to wane. He found they left a bittersweet taste in his mouth.

The first one was an action shot from a Little League game. An apparently nine-year-old Street standing on the home plate, his mom capturing the shot right as his bat swung forward and hit the ball.

“I didn’t know he played baseball,” Chris said quietly.

“Me neither.” He flipped to the next picture.

Most of them he dismissed outright. If there was any sort of injury in it he set it to the side. He didn’t know for sure why those bruises were there, but he wasn’t taking any chances. The one of a smiling Street blowing out candles on a birthday cake looked promising until he saw the sling on his left arm. The red number 7 on the cake made his heart sink.

There was only one photo left in the pile. He held his breath and he set the birthday photo on the ground with the others, but a soft smile ghosted across his face when he saw the next one. Karen Street was in the photo, some thirty years younger, holding a toddler in her lap. They were sitting on a bale of hay in a pumpkin patch, dressed in autumnal sweaters and beanies. The trees behind them were a deep red, some leaves had already let go and fallen to the ground. She was tickling the child in her lap and they both had grins plastered on their faces.

Neither he nor Chris had spoken as they’d looked through the pictures, both of them unsure what they would say. But when Luca moved to put that last photo in his jacket pocket, her hand moved forward slowly and she rested her fingers on his wrist.

“We can’t give these to him, Luca,” she whispered.

“I know,” he answered after a moment’s pause, “But I’m keeping this one.”

She didn’t seem to understand but she nodded, all the same, pulling her hand back toward her body. They sat in silence, looking down at the photos strewn across the floor in front of them.

“You were right,” he said finally, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

“About what?”

“Earlier. In the car when you said he might not want these. I just… I get really into Christmas and I like giving people the perfect gift, ya know?”

“It’s still a nice gesture,” she said placatingly, “You were thinking of him-”

“I was thinking of me. I felt so bad when he told me he didn’t have any family albums or even any baby pictures. I was thinking about how when I’m upset when I’m missing my mom or my grandpa I can look through those albums and I feel close to them again. Or I get to relive my favorite memories with my dad. And he doesn’t have that. I wanted to give him that. But I didn’t stop to consider that he might not feel the same way. That he probably doesn’t want to relive certain memories.”

Chris reached up and placed her hand on his shoulder, smiling at him sympathetically. “You did now. And you still have time to think of something else. You two live together. And nobody else gets as into Christmas as you do. If anyone can find the perfect present it’s you.”

“It breaks my heart,” Luca said, turning his head to look at her. “Family means everything to me and I can’t stand that he doesn’t get to experience that too.”

“He may not have had one then,” she said, gesturing to the pictures on the ground, “But he does now. You can’t seem to go a single day without calling us a S.W.A.T. family. And you know better than anyone how  _ real _ that is.”

He nodded half-heartedly, still wrongfully beating himself up over his botched Christmas idea when a veritable lightbulb went off in his head. He straightened up and pressed his hands into the cement, turning excitedly to face Chris. “I have an idea! But I’m going to need everyone’s help.”

Before she could answer, they heard footsteps echoing down the hall. A few people had passed by since Luca and Chris had been here, coming and going to lockers of their own, so the pair didn’t pay any mind to the sound. But when a familiar voice spoke, they both froze.

“What are you two doing here?” Street asked, tilting his head and furrowing his brow. Luca noticed he was holding two cardboard boxes in his arms.

Chris turned around swiftly, leaning forward to block the pile they’d made on the floor. Luca acted quickly, scooping up the pictures and shoving them into the back pocket of his jeans. He looked up at Street and smiled innocently. 

“What are  _ you _ doing here?” Luca countered.

Street narrowed his eyes, but he was smiling as he answered, “I cleared out my mom’s stuff from my apartment. Your turn.”

“Well, if you must know we are working on your Christmas present.” Luca rose to his feet and brushed off his pants. “But it’s  _ Secret _ Santa, so pretend you didn’t hear that.”

“You had to break into my mom’s storage unit to do that?”

“Hey! We did not break in! She gave us the combination.”

Street got quiet, glancing down at the boxes in his hands. He turned to set them against the wall just inside the door, Luca taking the opportunity to drop the pictures back into the box they’d come from.

Street didn’t turn back around entirely, feigning disinterest. “You guys talked to my mom?”

It took Luca to a second to figure out the problem but when he did it hit him like a freight train. “Yea. I mean, she only saw us cause she thought you sent us so…”

That didn’t help and Chris saw it too, climbing to her feet and taking an aborted step toward him. “You know she’s deliberately trying to hurt you, right?”

“I know,” he mumbled, pushing the new boxes with his foot so they were flush against the wall. When he was finished, he turned toward them, crossing his arms tightly over his chest.

“So why do you keep calling?” she asked.

Street shrugged, scuffing his boot against the cement floor. “Cause I deserve it.”

Luca thought back to his visit with Karen Street. To how adamant she had been on the same matter. He couldn’t complete the whole picture in his head, he only had a few pieces. But he did manage to connect a couple.

“You’re mom told us you got her locked up. Why would she think that? You told us her parole officer found her.”

“I lied…” he answered, rushing to explain, “I know I said I wasn’t going to do that anymore but you guys asked how the search was going and I was embarrassed and I felt guilty.”

Chris followed through on her movement toward him this time, moving until she was close enough that she could tilt her head forward to look him in the eye. “Whatever reason she made up to blame this on you-”

“She didn’t have to!” Street said suddenly, “I’m the one who found her. In some dirty, run-down apartment with some asshole. High on I don’t even know what. She didn’t even know who I was. I brought her back to my apartment to give her time to come down and I... called her parole officer. I turned her in.”

“You did the right thing,” Chris said.

“She doesn’t seem to think so.”

“Why would she?” Luca asked, “You turned her in to her parole officer! Of course, she’s not happy! But what does she want you to do? Harbor her in your apartment? You’d get fired if she was found, maybe even brought up on legal charges.”

“She doesn’t care,” he muttered under his breath, looking back down at the floor again. “I’m her son. As far as she’s concerned, I should have protected her. And she’s right.”

Chris started to say something, no doubt to admonish him for that ridiculous thought. But he continued speaking before she could get the chance.

“But in my mind, I was protecting her. And I keep hoping she’ll pick up so I can explain that to her.”

“She doesn’t deserve an explanation.” Chris reached out and lay her hand on his shoulder, gripping him tightly. She smiled softly up at him. “She doesn’t deserve  _ you _ .”

Street returned the smile, but his eyes remained sad. For a moment, at least, before he cleared his throat and he had his characteristic grin on his face again. “Did you guys find whatever it is you were looking for? Cause I wanna lock up.”

“I got everything I need!” Luca exclaimed, shooting his hands in the air triumphantly. He dropped one to point at the others. “You guys wanna go get some dinner?”

“I could eat,” Chris shrugged, “Street?”

“I’m in,” he said, stepping into the hallway. He waited until Luca and Chris were out and then he slid the door down, putting the padlock back on.

When he returned to work, he explained his idea to the rest of the team and this time the response was overwhelmingly enthusiastic. This one they all couldn’t wait to get in on. It required him to do some waiting while they all gathered their part of the gift. While he waited, he did some thinking. And the week before Christmas, he found himself at Long Beach Women’s Correctional again.

He was picking at his fingernails when someone sat down across from him.

“If you’re here to berate me…”

“I’m not.”

Karen Street shifted in her seat, resting her elbows on the table and pressing her balled hands underneath her chin. The confidence and self-assuredness he’d seen last time was gone and instead she looked tired, even a little sad. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

“Kind of,” Luca said.

“I don’t know where else they would be. I’m sorry.”

“That’s not why I’m here,” he explained. He paused, regarding her for a moment. “Are you alright?”

She sighed, letting her arms down and crossing them on the table. “He stopped calling me a few weeks ago.”

Luca furrowed his brow, “Why do you care? You didn’t want to talk to him anyway.”

“I miss him,” she whispered to the table. “I didn’t think I’d be able to drive him away. I should have known, I’ve done it once already.”

Luca reached into his pocket, grabbing the photo he’d taken from the storage unit. He pressed it into the table face up and slid it across to her. She looked up to it when it came into her field of view, reaching forward and gently taking into her hands.

“Where did you get this?”

“The storage unit.”

She stared at the photo a moment longer, running her thumb up and down on the image. She looked up at Luca with watery eyes. “Why are you giving this to me?”

“It’s Christmas,” Luca smiled.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

Luca nodded, rising from his seat. He stopped when she called out for him, turning back around to face her.

“Not just for this,” she said, lifting the photo slightly. “But for everything you do for Jimmy. I don’t always know how to be there for him the way I should. I get wrapped up in myself. I didn’t realize that until he left me. And he never would have done that, he never would have stood up for himself, if it weren’t for your team. So thank you. I wish I had what you’ve given him.”

“He needed to see what real love looks like for him to realize he shouldn’t be accepting anything less,” Luca said, “You do too. Everything Street does for you, that’s real love. Believe it or not, he called your parole officer because he thought he was protecting you. I have no doubt that was one of the hardest things he’s ever had to do, but he did it anyway because he loves you.”

Karen smiled wistfully, a wet chuckle escaping her throat. She looked down at the picture once more, cradling it gently in her hands. “He turned out good, didn’t he?”

“The best,” Luca swore.

“No thanks to me,” she mumbled, “Your friend was right. He’s better off without me.”

“You did the best you could,” Luca said sincerely, leaning across the table and resting his hand comfortingly on hers, “And he knows that.”

Karen shook her head, “It was my job to protect him, but somehow he always ended up protecting me. Would you… would you tell him I’m proud of him?”

“Tell him yourself,” Luca said kindly, rising from his seat once more.

“He won’t answer my call.”

“Trust me, he will.”

When Luca finally reached the door Karen was still sitting at the table, staring at the photograph he’d given her.

The last week before Christmas went by and Luca enjoyed every moment of his favorite time of year. He drove with his dad through Candy Cane lane to see the impressive ornamental displays. He bought last-minute clearance ornaments at the store for his tree, even though Street had made fun of him for having too many already. The team’s Christmas get together was being hosted at Luca’s this year, so he threw up a few extra holiday decorations and went shopping for party food. The party was being held on Christmas Eve, everyone bringing their families along. Hondo brought Darryl and his dad, having promised Christmas day to his mother. Tan brought Bonnie, who was kind enough to bake a pie for everyone. Chris brought a couple of her cousins. Street invited Molly but only after the entire team swore they wouldn’t be weird about it. Deacon was bringing Annie and the kids, though they wouldn’t be able to show up till after church. And Luca’s dad even stopped by for a little bit.

Once the party was in full swing and everyone had arrived, Luca felt a warmth spread through his chest. There was only a handful of times during the year where everyone was together in one room and he loved it more than anything. 

When they finally did the Secret Santa, Luca could barely sit still in his seat. The team gathered in a semi-circle on the floor in front of the tree, while their guests continued to mingle. The women ended up in the kitchen, sipping wine and noshing on the various snacks. Hondo and Luca’s dads were in the backyard sipping their beers. And Darryl was showing Deac’s older kids how to play the pinball machine, holding them up so they can see.

Chris had pulled Luca’s name from the hat and gotten a new chew toy for Duke. It was definitely a hit, the dog snuck up and took it before Luca could even free it from the package. Deacon got Chris an annual hiking pass for Angeles National Forest, remembering her saying her New Year’s resolution was to hike every trail by next December. Deacon’s gift from Hondo was a family pass for Disneyland.

Hondo opened his present, setting the paper shreds to the side. He pulled an orange football jersey from the box, the name on the back reading his name. He laughed, looking around at the group. “Alright,” he laughed, “You thought were being slick, but I know it’s you, Tan.”

“How?” Tan exclaimed.

“Football grab was your ‘Hondo Bingo’, remember?”

“Damn,” Tan cursed, smacking his thigh in defeat. It was his turn now, and he reached over to the tree, grabbing the gift bag addressed to him. He turned it upside down, dumping the tissue paper and two dozen packets of gummy bears onto his lap. He picked one up and inspected it, narrowing his eyes as the group laughed around him. “Let me guess. Street.”

Street held his hands up in defense, “Hey, we all know how much you love gummy bears.”

Tan laughed, hurling the packet in his hands at his teammate. “You’re such a dick.”

“Alright, Street. Last but not least,” Luca said, getting up and grabbing the last gift under the tree. “Now, we broke the Secret Santa rules a little bit…”

“You mean when you told me you were my Santa?” Street asked, reaching up and grabbing the package as it was handed to him. He set it down on the floor in front of him.

“You did what?” Tan asked, giving Luca a scandalized look.

“No!” Luca said defensively. He sat back down between Chris and Tan, crossing his legs in front of him. “I mean, you have five Santas. It’s from all of us.”

Street looked around at the group, a confused look crossing his face. He picked the box up and unwrapped it, pulling out a wide, leather book. The cover had the words ‘Family Memories’ written across it. “What is it?”

“What does it look like?” Tan asked.

At the same time, Luca exclaimed, “Open it!”

Street set the book down in his lap, opening the front cover. He glanced up briefly at Luca before looking back down at the book, turning the page. He brought a hand up to cover his mouth, but Luca saw the edge of a smile underneath.

Luca had everyone on the team send him pictures they’d taken with Street or of everyone together. Photos of them goofing off between missions. Photos of pranks they’d pulled on each other. Photos of them at award ceremonies and off-duty celebrations. Deacon had sent a few from his Fourth of July barbeque of his kids playing Go Fish with Street. Luca had thrown in one he loved of Street asleep on the couch, Duke zonked out on his chest. He hadn’t filled the entire album, leaving space for his friend to add more later if he wished.

After flipping through a few of the pages, Street let his hand drop and looked up at the expectant faces of the team, his eyes finally landing on Luca. There was a question written on his face, and Luca just shrugged in answer.

“It didn’t sit well with me that you didn’t have one, so…”

Finally, Street’s face broke into a grin and Luca thought that maybe his eyes were watering just a little bit. “Thank you,” he said, turning to every other member of the team, “This is… it’s perfect. Thank you.”

“You did it, Luca,” Chris said, clapping him on the back, “Perfect Christmas present.”

“We all did it!” he cheered, “As always, it was a team effort!”

“Let’s look through that thing,” Hondo said, getting up and waving for the others to follow, “You know there are some good stories in there.”

So, the team moved over to the couch, Street in the center holding the album. The other party guests, the adults anyway, crowded around the back of the couch and they all flipped through the pages. They reminisced and told the stories behind the photos, laughing and having a good time remembering silly moments that had turned into cherished memories.

_ This,  _ Luca thought,  _ This is why those albums are worth having. _

After they were done, the group starting flipping through Netflix for a Christmas movie to watch when Street’s phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, and Luca saw the surprised look on his face when he read the number. He watched as his roommate put his phone to his ear, a tentative smile on his face as he rose from his seat beside Luca on the couch. He headed toward the kitchen where it was quieter.

As Street left, Luca heard him say, “Yes, I’ll accept the charges.”

Luca watched him go, turning his head back round to see Chris smiling softly at him from the seat on his other side.

“You did that, didn’t you?” she asked.

“I might have helped a little,” he admitted sheepishly.

Chris reached up and put an arm around his shoulder, “I was wrong earlier.”

“About what?”

“ _ You’re _ the best Christmas present.”

Luca chuckled, “Maybe when I retire I’ll become Santa Claus.”

Christmas day was great and all but, for Luca, nothing beat this. Sitting in his living room, in this space he’d created for them to all gather in, surrounded by the people he loved most in this world. Hondo was serving everyone pie, dressed in his new football jersey. Chris was on the floor with Tan, playing tug of war with Duke and the new toy. Deacon was picking his kids up to show them the ornaments on the tree. And Street was in the kitchen, animatedly talking to his estranged mother on the phone. He’d tell Luca later that evening that his mom asked him if he’d visit her tomorrow. His quest to always give the ‘perfect Christmas present’ wasn’t about winning or competition, it was about making the holidays every bit as magical for the people around him as it was to him. It was about bringing joy to the ones he cared about. And if he’d managed to make a grinch love Christmas again  _ that  _ was his gift.


End file.
